


Coevolution: That Thing Between Albus and Scorpius

by unkissed



Series: Coevolution [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Boys Kissing, Coming Out, Explicit Language, Fluffy Ending, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, M/M, Masturbation, POV First Person, Requited Unrequited Love, Scorbus, Sexual Fantasy, Sweet, rewrite of previously posted story, self doubt, triumph over homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 21:05:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16502690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unkissed/pseuds/unkissed
Summary: "Can I call Scorpius Malfoy my boyfriend?  He kissed me on the mouth, but we never explicitly discussed what that implied.  Are Scorpius and I even a thing?"





	Coevolution: That Thing Between Albus and Scorpius

**Author's Note:**

> Because the entire Coevolution series was written in first person pov, I decided to rewrite "Albus and Scorpius are a Thing" (written in second person pov) to flow better with the other stories in the series. I tweaked it slightly too.
> 
> A continuation of "Open Road Song" by ColorfulStabwound.

**Coevolution: That Thing Between Albus and Scorpius**

 

It’s the night before my fifth year at Hogwarts and sleeplessness is to be expected.  It’s not my nerves that have me turning restlessly in my bed at half past one.  No, I haven’t been nervous about starting school since first year. In fact, I’m beyond excited for the new term to begin.

And if I could be honest with myself (which I can’t, because it’s embarrassing), I am so eager to get to Kings Cross that I’ve worked myself up into a frenzy.  There’s a growing need inside me that makes me so tense that I can’t relax enough to even let my eyes close.  I’m so anxious that I can’t quiet my mind enough to even count sheep, not that it ever really worked for short-term insomnia. 

All I can think about is _him_ – that blond angel with the devil’s smile, who took up permanent residence in my mind since the day I first met him. 

We’ve been best friends from the start, but tomorrow will be the very first time I can walk into that school, take his hand, and call him _mine_. The hand-in-hand bit won’t be new at all – we’ve always been physically close as friends.  And maybe that sense of possession isn’t even all that new either  –  he had always made me feel entitled above all his other friends.  But, _finally_ , I can now call him my boyfriend.

A startling thought jolts me upright in bed.

Wait a minute… _Can_ I call Scorpius Malfoy my boyfriend?

He kissed me on the mouth in front of everyone at his end-of-summer party four days ago.  We snogged on the great lawn of Malfoy Manor until the sun came up and our lips were raw.  We owled each other back and forth about how brilliant it had been. But it was never explicitly discussed what all that kissing really meant.

I practically leap out of bed and dive underneath it to access a loose floorboard.  I feel a bit guilty that treasured love notes from Scorpius share the same hiding spot as my secret porn stash, but I’ll be damned if James gets a hold of the letters and uses it as ammunition against me. 

I read the notes over and over again, trying to glean any information between the lines.

_You’re such a good kisser._

_You’re so beautiful – I’ve always thought so._

_I can’t wait to see you.  I miss your face._

These lines make me swoon every subsequent time I read them.  Yeah, it’s all very sweet, but nothing in these letters says anything about my relationship with Scorpius actually changing, other than the snogging. Maybe we’re friends with benefits. Maybe we’re not even _that_.  He never said he wanted the kissing to continue beyond that one night.  Maybe it really _was_ just an end-of-summer hook up.

I start to panic with that devastating realization.  It is quite possible that I was so drunk on that kiss – that kiss that had been the culmination of years of unrequited love – that I failed to realize that it was just a kiss. But I don’t want it to be _just_ a kiss because I’m ridiculously in love with my best friend and my life would be complete if only my best friend could love me back.

I read the notes again. They really aren’t that different from the notes he has always written to me, but with added lines that fool me into thinking otherwise.

 

_Dearest Albie,_

_My father and Uncle Theo just got back from their weekend away. They still have no fucking idea that we had a raging party here when they were gone.  If dad knew what you and I got up to on Malfoy property, he’d lose his shit.  Gods, it was brilliant!  Best party ever, thanks to you._

_You’re such a good kisser, by the way._

_See you in three days!_

_\- Scor_

_Dearest Albie,_

_Ugh!  I hate my mum right now.  She convinced me to let her stylist cut my hair.  Should’ve just let my regular barber guy in London do it.  I look like an arsehole._

_You’re so lucky that you are the sort of bloke that looks good even when your hair gets too long.  I’m so jealous.  You’re so beautiful – I’ve always thought so._

_See you in two days!_

_\- Scor_

_Dearest Albie,_

_OMGOMGOMG!!!  Can you believe we’re leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow?  I’m ridiculously excited.  Hope you can get some sleep tonight.  Though, knowing you, you won’t.  And also, knowing you, you will make up for it first night... although, maybe not *wink wink*.  If I have to jump on you to wake you for the first day of term, I totally will._

_I can’t wait to see you.  I know it’s only been like four days since we last saw each other, but still. I miss your face._

_SEE YOU TOMORROW!!!!_

_\- Scor_

 

I fold that last letter, the one I received just hours ago, and heave a long disappointed sigh as I slip it back into the envelope.  I toss it into the box along with the other letters with much less reverence than the way I’d extracted them.  These aren’t love notes.  They are the typical letters from my best mate, and if I squint, there might be references to the two of us being more than friends.  But I really can’t be sure at all.

One thing I am certain of is that we _did_ kiss four days ago. Scorpius doesn’t deny it.  He thought it was brilliant.  But will that kiss change anything?  Judging from the letters, it doesn’t really seem like it. And maybe that’s a hidden message right there – maybe Scorpius’ letters were so typical because he distinctly wants things to stay exactly the same between us.

Fuck, and here I am, thinking the whole bloody world has changed when it was only a kiss.  _You are a stupid, stupid boy, Albus Potter._

Okay so maybe it wasn’t _just_ a kiss.  There was a lot of snuggling and gazing tenderly into each other’s eyes and giggling and fingers tangling into hair and heavy breathing against skin and that one instance I dared to let my tongue graze his lips.  Gods, I’m getting that anxious, tight feeling again just thinking about it. 

I swallow hard and remember the way Scorpius’ mouth had tasted, and I let my tongue trace my bottom lip as if I can still taste him there.  My pulse quickens when I remember the way the sinuous angles of his body fit perfectly into mine when we held each other close beneath the stars, as if he was made just for me. 

I can’t help but think about what it would feel like to have those sinuous lines angling themselves deeply into my body, and I start to sweat.  The memory of his elegant fingers curling possessively at the back of my neck evolves into thoughts of those same nimble fingers coiling around other more delicate parts of me, and it makes me twitch in my shorts.

I berate myself for the zillionth time (yeah, I do it that often) for wanking off to sexual fantasies of my best friend as my hand slips down the front of my boxers.  I close my eyes and bite my lip and imagine Scorpius’ hot mouth slathering my hardened length and his fingers plundering my depths. 

I had spent years taming these fantasies, knowing that letting them flourish into hardcore sex scenes in my head would make it difficult to look my best mate in the eye the next day.  But that kiss, _that bloody kiss,_ had given me hope and had given me license to think filthier thoughts, dream dirtier dreams, fuck myself silly under the bedcovers – because I had thought things had changed and that it was now not so horrible to imagine Scorpius balls deep inside of me.  And once I had let my imagination go there, I couldn’t bloody well stop it from going there again and again.

I feel even more unclean than I normally do after these wank sessions because maybe I _shouldn’t_ be thinking about Scorpius in that way.  And I speculate about whether or not Scorpius would think these thoughts about me, and I honestly can’t imagine him ever doing that.  Scorpius is so naïve and clueless about sex, and I rather love that about him.  His innocence is ridiculously endearing.

So here I am again, right back where we started – way too into Scorpius Malfoy for it to be normal. Only now, it’s not just an innocent crush, it’s lust.

The clock on my beside table says it is either much too late to attempt sleep or too early to get dressed. Even in my post-orgasmic state, I still can’t relax.  So I peel the sticky covers off my body and shuffle to the shower.  As I scrub my body hard under the scalding water, I can’t be rid of that _itch_ – that desperate need to be near Scorpius, to feel his mouth on me again.

~//~ 

Mum and dad are too busy gushing over their first-born-turned-Head-Boy to complain that my only goodbye is an air kiss and a wave.  I’m off in a flash, down platform nine-and-three-quarters, searching through the steam engine smoke and the crowd for that conspicuous platinum blond head.  I still haven’t found him by the time the last whistle blows and I pout like a sad puppy. He always waits for me before boarding the Hogwarts express.

“Oi!  Do you want the first demerit of the term, Al?” James smacks the back of my head, startling me out of my gloom.  “Get your scrawny arse on the train before I take ten points from Slytherin.”

Gods, it is going to be an even tougher year for me, and likely all of Slytherin, now that my arsehole brother is lording over the entire school.  Or maybe it won’t be so bad.  Teddy is starting his job as Transfiguration professor, and hopefully he’ll rein in James a little when he gets too heavy-handed.

Oh, who am I kidding? Fifth year is pretty much ruined for me. I snogged my best mate, and now he won’t even meet me on the platform.  And now I have to spend day after day not being able to look that boy in the face because I spent the past four nights imagining that face in my lap.

I resign to find a seat with my cousins on the train, but the first compartment I peek into just happens to be occupied by all my friends.

“Oh.  Hey,” I say, with an inflection that reveals I hadn’t expected to find all my usual companions already sitting together on the train.  Which is stupid.  Of course they are.

I enter the compartment, since I don’t need an invitation to sit with my friends.  Yes, they may have been Scorpius’ friends first, but they are still mine. 

Alexa Montague lifts the book she had placed on the seats to save them and says, mildly surprised “Is S not with you?”

I shake my head meekly and fear the worst.  Oh gods, I have not only estranged myself from Scorpius by kissing him, I’ve estranged him from all his friends.  But before the sinking feeling in my gut even has the chance to take hold, Scorpius comes bounding into the compartment.  He’s winded, as if he’d been running to catch the train.

“Hey,” Scorpius says cheerily, though out of breath.

“Hey,” I respond in kind, if a bit hesitant.

“ _Hey_?” Alexa repeats in the form of an indignant question. “Isn’t this the first time you’re seeing each other since you stopped being stupid?  All you have to say to each other is _hey_?”

Scorpius grins bashfully and that little smile makes my heart flutter.  He turns to me properly, and our eyes meet.  It feels like we’ve not seen each other in weeks, and that’s not just because his hair is different.  So much has changed inside of me and I am still so unsure of how Scorpius feels.

“Hey,” Scorpius says again, but this time, everyone else seems to disappear and it is just us in this moment.  He’s still so ridiculously coy, complete with a shy little tilt of his head.  “You didn’t wait for me.”

I gasp and reach out to put my hand on his shoulder.  “Oh, shit, I totally did but then I thought you got on the train without me, so…”

Scorpius’ brow furrows slightly with concern.  “Why would you think that?”

“Because Al is a dolt,” Alexa answers for me. 

I’m grateful, even though she’s disparaging me, because my response would have likely made things worse.  _Because I thought you were avoiding me because you kissed me._  And her response to mine would have still been the same.  Yes, I am a dolt.  My logic, as I am now coming to realize, is extremely flawed.

“Let’s try this again, boys. From the top,” Alexa instructs, as if directing a stage play, “Enter Al, stage right.  Enter Scor, stage left.”

“The fuck, Lex?” I glance at Alexa incredulously, though terribly amused, “Are we merely entertainment for you?”

She continues to direct, more firmly this time, pointing a finger in my face.  “You, out.  Scorpius, out.  When I say _action,_ you come in and start over.  _Properly_ , yeah?”

Scorpius and I give each other a look and we roll our eyes because we both know that Alexa is a little bit crazy and a whole lot bossy, but we need to humor her because she likely won’t let us off the hook until we do, and it’s a long ride to Hogsmeade. And maybe we are more apt to comply just the same because we both know that Alexa had pushed us two together in the first place.  Literally, she had pushed Scorpius to the makeshift stage when my band performed at his party, which was just the push he needed to kiss me, apparently.

“Places, places!” Scorpius mocks dramatically as he steps out of the compartment and I follow him into the swiftly emptying corridor.

I slide the door shut behind me and give him a shy smile.  “Hey,” I giggle.

Scorpius steps into my personal space, which isn’t unusual, but it still makes my heart skip a beat. “Hey,” he says again for what seems like the hundredth time between us, but this time, he draws out the word, slow and low and too sensual for it to be a casual greeting.  _Hey._

He takes my hand and laces our fingers together – also nothing new, but this time, his touch sets my skin ablaze.  My cheeks glow hot and my pulse starts to race.  He closes the very small distance between us and bites his bottom lip coyly before tilting his head slightly.  I realize he’s going to kiss me again and my heart beats out of my chest. Yes, I’ve wanted this for days, but I hadn’t realized just how fucking badly I wanted it until his mouth is so close to mine that I can feel his warm breath on me.  My eyes flutter closed and I reflexively wet my lips in anticipation.

“Ten points from Slytherin for snogging on the train!” James’ arrogant bark startles me. 

He thwacks the top of Scorpius’ head with a rolled up sheet of parchment.  “Another ten points from Slytherin for your horrendous taste in boys.”

Indignant, Scorpius protests and pulls away from me to glare at James. “You can’t bloody do that!”

“Oh, but I can, Malfoy,” James replies smugly, gesturing at his Head Boy pin, “And I’ll issue a detention to each of you if you don’t sit your arses down.  The train is pulling out from the station.”

Outraged, I gasp at my brother for being the most tyrannical Head Boy in Hogwarts history and for ruining the moment I was having (or about to have) with Scorpius.  “Arsehole.”

James continues down the corridor and decrees without even a backwards glance, “Language, Potter.  Ten points from Slytherin.”

We vehemently make rude gestures with our fingers in James’ wake.

Scorpius returns his attention to me and remarks with an impish grin, “I’ll bet you five sickles we break our detention record this year.”

I match the mischievousness of his grin with my own and reply, “I’ll double down on that and say we’ll earn our first one tonight.”

Scorpius’ smirk darkens and borders upon lascivious when he asks, “Tonight, hm?”  He folds his arms behind my neck and rests his forehead upon mine.  “You going to get me into trouble, Albie?”

He’s literally making me hot under the collar and I know that we are going to have a hell of a lot of fun together this year, as boyfriends or not.  “Loads,” I answer, letting the first letter of the word roll sensually off my tongue.

“Mmm…”  He makes a quiet sound that’s between a low purr and a growl deep in his throat, and I could almost feel it vibrating inside my chest, all the way down to my lap.

I forget all the uncertainty, angle my face just so, and let my lips close over his in a soft, slow kiss. 

Scorpius makes that sound again and murmurs, “Mmm that’s good.  Worth the wait.”

The blush spreads from high on my cheeks.  Another uncertainty is put to rest.  I feel so much better knowing that Scorpius wanted to kiss me again, and maybe he’s been waiting just as eagerly as I’d been.

He kisses me the same way, as if testing it out for himself.  I feel the fullness of his bottom lip overtake mine, then his top lip fitting neatly between my lips.  The tip of his tongue brushes my bottom lip, eliciting a barely audible, involuntary moan.  I blush impossibly harder, embarrassed of how easily I am undone by just a kiss.

He giggles against my mouth and muses, “You like that, hm?”

I laugh softly in return. “Yeah.  Worth the risk of detention.”

“You’re just saying that because we’ve got a wager going,” he jokes.

The door we’d been leaning on swiftly slides open, nearly sending us falling backwards into the compartment.

“Awww,” Alexa coos, “See, isn’t it nice when you stop being stupid?”

“Get a room,” her twin brother jokes.

“Okay, if you say so, Duston.”  Scorpius pulls me into the compartment and closes the door.

“Gods, not here though,” Bryce Zabini protests, cringing with disgust.  “It was bad enough watching you two being all gross _before_.”

I know what he means by _before_.  And if Bryce perceives things to be different between me and Scorpius now, after that kiss we shared at the party, then I’m not delusional.  So even though Bryce is being his usual uptight self, his reaction is reassuring.

“That’s interesting, B. You don’t have a problem with public displays of affection when it’s you and Calista,” Scorpius argues, giving Bryce and his girlfriend a pointed look, though they’re close enough friends that no malice is exchanged.

“B has a problem with gay stuff.  It threatens his manhood,” Lloyd Warrington teases, though brutally honest, as he hooks an arm over Bryce’s shoulders and threatens to kiss his cheek.

Bryce leans away, practically sprawling himself across Calista’s lap in the process.  “Ugh, boys, please,” she scoffs as Bryce and Lloyd begin to wrestle playfully, “We’re Fifth-Years now.  Start acting like it.”

Scorpius takes the one remaining seat next to Alexa and pulls me onto his lap.  It isn’t the first time I’ve sat on Scorpius, so it feels quite natural. I’m happy that Scorpius and I can be as physically close as we were before, without it being weird.  Cut-off circulation and discomfort will eventually force us to sit on the floor.  Until then, I’m content to lean back into Scorpius’ chest and rest my head on his shoulder.

He turns his face and kisses my temple.  “I really did miss you,” he admits as he folds his arms around me. 

My heart does a flip inside my chest and I smile like the love-struck fool that I am.  “Me too.”

We always missed each other over holiday breaks and during the summer months away from school. Neither of us were ever shy about that, whether in letters or in person.  But this time, it really does feel different.  I now know that we had missed each other on a deeper level.  I don’t even want to begin to think about what that will mean when we have to separate for Christmas.

For now, I will revel in this blissful reunion.

 

~//~

 

“Oh.  My.  Gods,” says Jessica Chen, scandalized, as she drops into the seat opposite mine at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, despite being a Ravenclaw.  “Is it true?”  She glances down at my hands linked with Scorpius’ on the table, her mouth agape, her eyes wide.  “Are you two like a _thing_ now?” 

She doesn’t wait for me to answer.  It’s pretty obvious.  We’ve been stealing kisses in the open since we arrived at the castle. 

“Merlin’s beard, Harriet Havendish is going to be like so devastated that you’re off the market, Scor. Although I told her like a million times you probably don’t even fancy girls that way.  She’s like so delusional.  I, on the other hand, have amazing gaydar and  _always_ suspected.”

Scorpius and I exchange glances and know how awkward this non-conversation is going.  Jessica, on the other hand, keeps talking, making me feel more and more uncomfortable.  “Oh my gosh, and Lysander!  Poor darling Lysander.  He never did get over it when you broke up with him, Albie.  This is going to just _crush_ him.”  She sighs despondently, but then immediately recovers.  “Anyway, good luck to you both.  You make a really cute couple.  I’ve got two dear friends to console.  Bye!”

In Hurricane Jessica’s wake, we are both stunned by her total lack of sensitivity for anyone but her friends and her complete absence of a brain-to-mouth filter. 

“Erm… _Are_ we a thing now?” I ask Scorpius, hesitantly.

“I… don’t know what that even means.  _What_ thing?”  Scorpius asks with a concerned look on his face, brow furrowed in confusion.

I find it hard to believe that Scorpius is really that naive and I roll my eyes.  “Come on, Scor.  You know what it means.”

Scorpius gives me a sharp look.  “Yeah, I’m not stupid, Albus.  But it could mean one of several _things_ , right?”

I nod.  “I suppose it could.”  Then I take a long pause, during which my heart starts to pound nervously as I find the courage to cautiously ask, “What do you _want_ it to mean?”

Scorpius holds his chin contemplatively.  I find myself terrified of his answer as I wait for it with baited breath.  He opens his mouth and tentatively replies, “I… don’t think it’s really up to me to answer that.  Your parents said you’re not allowed to date until you’re sixteen.”

I snort incredulously, “So you want me to ask my parents?”

He gives me that razor sharp look again.  “No, I want you to ask yourself what _you_ want it to mean.  Because it affects you more.”

I could just die from Scorpius’ selflessness.  “Hardly,” I say gently, reaching for his cheek, “I don’t give a fuck about what my parents say.  I don’t care about what Jessica Chen has to say, or Lysander Scamander has to say, or my stupid brother, or Bryce.  All I care about is you.”

A pale pink color begins to blossom across Scorpius’ skin where my thumb softly brushes.  He smiles bashfully and bites his bottom lip.  “Oh, Albie, I--”

Scorpius’ sentiment is suddenly interrupted by the ringing of a crystal bell, calling for silence. But it isn’t jolly Headmaster Ogilvie presiding over the Opening Feast. Instead, it is his wife, the strict and imposing Arithmancy professor that certain students have nicknamed _The Human Dementor_ for her uncanny ability to suck all the joy out of everything.  It is fitting that she is the one to cut short what could have been a pivotal moment in my friendship with Scorpius.

“Silence, children! Silence!” she demands as the hall buzzes with questions and confusion.  “No doubt you are all wondering about the conspicuous absence of Headmaster Ogilvie.  Due to an unfortunate gardening accident this summer, Headmaster Ogilvie is recovering at home from hip replacement surgery.  Thus, I will serve as Headmistress in his stead." 

Gasps and horrified murmurs rise up from the student tables. Scorpius and I silently mouth our disappointed outrage.  _Oh FUCK._ We are seriously reconsidering our quest to break our detention record. 

She puts her hands up to settle the crowd.  “Though I’m sure Headmaster Ogilvie would be touched by your outpouring of concern regarding his absence,” she says, looking acutely aware that the real buzz is regarding her position as Headmistress, “rest assured, he will be returning in a few months time.”

“Oh thank Godric!” Lloyd exclaims with relief, sending an echo of giggles throughout the Great Hall.

“Thank you, Mr. Warrington,” Professor Ogilvie remarks, unimpressed, “I shall pass on your sentiments to my husband.  But I must ask that you and your fellow students refrain from further outbursts, as we have much ground to cover tonight before the feast.”

Bryce elbows Lloyd and gravely whispers, “If you lose house points for us tonight, I swear to the Bloody Barron I will end you.”

“Don’t tell me, tell the fucking love birds over here,” Lloyd gestures at me and Scorpius.  “They already lost us twenty points for snogging on the train.” 

“Sorry, not sorry,” Scorpius whispers.

“Zabini! Warrington!  Malfoy!  What did I just say?” Ogilvie admonishes, “Do you feel that your conversation is so important that you need to hold up the entire night?”

“Thirty points from Slytherin!” James decrees from his lofty position in the Head Boy’s seat at the staff table.

“Er, thank you, Mr. Potter,” she says, just as startled by James’ outburst as me and my friends.  “I should take this opportunity to recognize Head Boy and Head Girl for this year.  James Potter and Marilee Marquee.”  She gestures at them with only slight reverence and pointedly adds, “I’m sure they will be upstanding pillars of the school community who will uphold the tenets and rules of Hogwarts with utmost diligence.”  I can’t be sure, but it is possible that she glances at my brother with uncertainty. 

“Moving right along with another change in staff, joining us as your new Transfiguration teacher is Professor Ted R. Lupin.”  She gives a curt nod in Teddy’s direction.

Teddy tentatively raises a hand in acknowledgement and smiles tightly.  I can tell he is terribly nervous.  So I give him raucous applause to make him feel welcome.  The rest of my extended family follows suit, but are not as polite.  They catcall and whistle and hoot, and it is all to be expected of the Potter-Weasley clan. That’s just how we show love for one another.  Teddy, of course, is mortified, but smiles through it all.

James surprises me by shutting down the hullabaloo and even takes five points from his own house in response to Roxy shouting _looking good, professor_.

The rest of the opening ceremony is much less exciting.  And when the last first-year is sorted, adding another Slytherin to our lot, I heave an audible sigh of relief, not just because dinner is served.

I clear my throat and try to restart the conversation I’d been having with Scorpius.  “So, erm, Scor… about the _thing_.”

“Gross, Albie.  Quit talking about Scor’s thing.  I’m trying to eat,” Lloyd jokes.

I raise my eyes to the enchanted ceiling and huff with annoyance.  “Forget it.  We’ll talk later.”

“No, by all means, talk about the _thing_.  Don’t mind this Neanderthal,” Alexa insists, giving Lloyd a smack on the shoulder.  “What _thing_?  Do you mean _this thing_?” she gestures between me and Scorpius and raises a brow.

Scorpius grins smugly and gives me a sideways squeeze.  “Yes. Albie and I are apparently a _thing_.”

Alexa gasps and puts her hands over her heart.  “Awh! I’m so happy you made it official.”

I give Scorpius an uncertain look.  “Erm, did we? I thought we were still sorting out what kind of thing we are.”

Scorpius shrugs.  “I guess.  But we at least decided that we are indeed a _thing_.”

Duston suggests, always the reasonable and sage one of the Montague twins, “Do you really have to define it?  Can’t you just see where it goes?”

Scorpius and I look at each other questioningly and agree without any real confidence, nodding hesitantly.

Scorpius grows quiet and contemplative for the rest of dinner and it worries me, but I don’t want to push him.  I know it is a lot to process. 

Scorpius had never officially come out to me or to anyone as being gay.  For all I know, he could be bisexual or pansexual or anything on the spectrum.  He never struck me as anything but asexual before that fateful kiss. 

And already there have been assumptions made and dirty looks given and disapproving glances thrown at the two of us – not that it is anything new. Scorpius and I have always fielded this sort of treatment with our heads held high. 

But now, we’re about to catch even more heat.  Because now, we’re not just friends who touch a lot in public – we’re friends who kiss a lot in public.  And I don’t want to put any added pressure on Scorpius by making him define our relationship.

 

An inactive golden snitch lands in my plate, splattering gravy onto my school robes.  I look up to find the source of the wayward ball as Alexa and Scorpius react quickly with cleanup spells on my soiled clothes.

A gaggle of heartily chuckling Gryffindor Seventh-Years capture my glare.  The worst of them all shouts from across the hall, “Hey, Potter!  You ought to practice capturing that snitch with Scorpius!  I heard you catch them in your mouth like your dad!” Janus Ivers and his arsehole cohorts then make lewd pantomimes in my direction, alluding to an assumption that I’m keen on giving blowjobs (never mind the false assumption that I even play quidditch).

I have never let anyone give me shit for being gay.  And I am not about to start backing down, even when Duston is quick to rein me in with a hand clamped around my arm when I shoot up from my seat.

“Oi!” James surprises me, yet again, by coming to my defense.  He shows up behind Janus to thwack him hard on the back of the head. “That’s my gay-arse _brother_ you’re fucking with, dick-wad!  Mess with him again, and I’ll bench you at the first Quidditch match of the season.”

Janus seems to shrink slightly at his team captains reprimand and responds dismissively, “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Jamie.  I’m just joking around.  I don’t mean any harm.”

“You’re not funny, Ivers. Five points from Gryffindor.  Mind your manners, arseholes,” he points accusingly at the whole group of offending boys.  Then James shoots a warning glare at me.  “And you.  Calm your tits, Albie, or you’ll catch a beat down from these idiots.  You’re on your own when my back is turned.”

“You may not always have Albie’s back, James, but we Slytherins take care of our own,” Lloyd declares, full of bravado to match that of the Gryffindors.  He and my other friends flank me in a defensive stance.  The entire Slytherin table is quick to follow suit as they also rise from their seats, and I am so bloody proud to be Slytherin in that moment, standing united against the comparatively small group of ignorant Gryffindors.

“Sit down!  You are not dismissed!” Ogilvie’s amplified shout echoes loudly through the Great Hall.

And as we all take our seats, I never take my eyes off the Gryffindors.

“I was so close to pummeling the shit out of Ivers and winning that bet, Scor,” I admit, still seething.

“Bloody hell, Albie. This is why you need to chill with all the gay stuff,” Bryce admonishes me, “You’re going to cause a fucking house war.”

I whip around to gape incredulously at Bryce and repeat, completely indignant, “I need to chill with all the gay stuff?  I’m going to cause a fucking house war?  Are you listening to yourself, B?  I mean you were always an uptight prat, but _this_? This is bollocks, mate.  You sound like a straight-up homophobe.”

“Don’t get all social-justice-warrior on me, man.  How can I be a homophobe if two of my closest friends are gay?” Bryce argues, and then pauses to address Scorpius, “Wait, are you gay, Scor?  Like full blown gay?”

Scorpius snorts, somehow both amused and offended, “Full blown gay?  Is it a disease?”

“I mean, as opposed to bisexual or transsexual or whatever,” Bryce clarifies, still completely unaware of how insensitive he’s being.

Scorpius heaves an exasperated sigh and holds up his hands.  “Ugh!  I just can’t with you right now, B.  You are just as bad as Janus Ivers.”  Then Scorpius turns to me, takes me firmly by the shoulders, and looks me square in the face. “I need to do something right now, and forgive me if I put you on the spot.”

I frown and give him a worried expression. 

He stands up on the bench and draws attention to himself.  “My fellow wizards, witches, and nonbinary magical folk!  I have an announcement!  My name is Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, and I’m gay, and I’m proud!” he declares confidently, and then flashes an almost vindictive glare at Janus Ivers, “Despite the haters.”

Many people cheer positively in support, but there are still a few scattered hecklers shouting things like, _sit down, you ponce_ and _bugger off, faggot_.  Headmistress Ogilvie shoots up from her seat at the staff tables to shut it all down, but Professor Longbottom puts a hand on her shoulder and whispers something to her that convinces her to sit, and the cheering continues.

I gaze up at Scorpius with so much pride that I feel like my heart could burst.  I have always thought of him as a brave person, but his bravery had always been quiet.  This, however, is anything but quiet.  I’m surprised, maybe even shocked, but I could not be happier for him.

“And also, I have a very important question to ask.”  Scorpius’ eyes fall upon me, and my prideful heart stops.  “Albus Potter, would you please honor me by being my boyfriend?” He beams and reaches his hands down to me.

I smile all the way up to my green eyes that become glassy with impending tears.  I never thought Scorpius would ever ask me this question, and certainly not like _this_ – not even in my most outlandish fantasies.  I take Scorpius’ hands and join him on the bench, pull him close, and reply only loudly enough for him to hear, “Fuck yeah, I’ll be your boyfriend.”  And then I kiss him hard on the mouth.  My teeth clink against his because neither of us can stop smiling.

The cheering grows, as does the backlash.  A stray bread roll or two is thrown at us.  Ogilvie is quick to shut it down now and amplifies her voice to address the situation, sending us down into our seats swiftly.

“Children, settle down, this instant!  It is apparent that I must remind you of the Hogwarts rules!  There shall be no student announcements in the Great Hall without prior approval from a staff member.  There shall be no throwing of food, as the house elves work very hard to cook for us and to clean up after us.  And furthermore, I must enforce the Amendments of 1999, which decrees a strict anti-discrimination policy at Hogwarts, which means no one shall be discriminated against based on blood status, orientation, gender, or race.”

“That’s right!  You tell ‘em, Ogilvie!” Lloyd shouts, pointing accusingly at Janus Ivers and crew.

“Er, thank you, once again, Mr. Warrington,” she remarks, momentarily distracted and not the least bit grateful, “Harassment will not be tolerated and offenders will be dealt with. And finally, I will remind you all that any student caught engaging in undue physical intimacy with another student on school property will receive detention.  Which means… Potter, Malfoy, detention, my office, tomorrow after lessons. Now, all of you, off to bed early! You’ve obviously had too much excitement for one night.  Dismissed! First Years, follow your prefects to your dormitories.”

“You owe me ten sickles, Scor,” I inform Scorpius, grinning smugly.


End file.
